LONGVIEW, Wash. — A Boston-based company is investing $100 million to build a new facility in southwest Washington that will harness food waste to make biogas.

Divert Inc. broke ground at its Integrated Diversion and Energy Facility in Longview on Sept. 7.

Chris Thomas, vice president of public affairs for Divert, said that once completed the plant will bring in up to 100,000 tons of discarded and unsold food every year from 650 retail grocery stores in Washington and Oregon to produce renewable natural gas, or RNG.

The 66,000-square-foot facility in the city’s Mint Farm Industrial Park will use anaerobic digestion to capture RNG from food waste, which will then be injected into a nearby Cascade Natural Gas pipeline. By diverting food that would otherwise go to rot in landfills, Thomas said the plant will offset 23,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually, or the equivalent of removing 5,000 gas-powered cars from the road.

“We’re really excited about our Longview project,” he said. “That is going to be serving a number of our customers in the Pacific Northwest.”

According to the USDA, about 30-40% of all food produced in the U.S. each year goes to waste. In 2010, that added up to 133 billion pounds worth $161 billion.

The Environmental Protection Agency estimates all that wasted food belches 170 million metric tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, the same as 42 coal-fired power plants.

Seeking solutions

Divert was founded in 2007 to help come up with solutions. The company works with 5,400 retail stores nationwide — including Albertsons, CVS, Kroger and Target — to increase food donations, reduce waste and capture emissions where possible. Food waste accounts for 15% of U.S. methane emissions, Thomas said. Because methane is more potent than carbon dioxide, he said facilities like the one being built in Longview can make a bigger dent in the fight against climate change.

“We can actually have an accelerated impact on climate change if we focus on methane,” Thomas said.

More plants

So far, Divert has developed two anaerobic digestion plants in Southern California and Massachusetts. Two more are under construction in Longview and Turlock, Calif., about 90 miles south of Sacramento.

Thomas said the company hopes to have 30 facilities running by 2031, all within 100 miles of cities that make up 80% of the U.S. population.

The Longview facility is expected to be completed by the end of 2024. It will provide up to 40 full-time jobs, with 10 truckloads of food waste arriving per day.

City welcomes plant

Ann Rivers, assistant city manager, said she expects the plant will be the first pillar in a newly imagined economy as Longview, which is celebrating its centennial this year, transforms from a historical timber town into a leader in clean energy production.

“We had a few rocky years,” Rivers said, referencing the failed Millennium Bulk coal export terminal and Northwest Innovation Works methanol plant at the Port of Kalama. “I knew we had to go after industries that would lend themselves toward the governor’s green agenda. By doing so, I could assure we would be bringing new industry here, and therefore new jobs, while making a favorable impact on the environment.”

Another company, NEXT Renewables, is also attempting to build a renewable diesel refinery in Clatskanie, Ore. That project has run into opposition from local farmers and land use advocates worried about potential damage to the land and Columbia River. Rivers said she is optimistic the Divert facility will be able to cross the finish line. The plant will help businesses in Washington comply with a state law passed in 2022 that requires food waste and organic material be diverted from landfills, she added.

“(Divert) has brought first-rate science and engineers who are very clearly committed to making things work and finding innovative solutions,” she said.